Road Trips
by gretasbedtimestories
Summary: Mark Salling and Dianna Agron miss their flight to New York City and are forced to go on a road trip together to catch up with the rest of the cast.


**Disclaimer:** This isn't a Puck/Quinn story, but a story on the actors that portray them. Don't you guys find Dianna Agron and Mark Salling so adorable and awesome together? Puck and Quinn are hot, but Dianna and Mark are even better! Have you guys seen that picture of them pulling a Donnie Darko with the rabbit masks? Too cute for words. You guys should also check out Dianna's blog. She writes and takes photographs really well. (Okay, stalker much. But I couldn't help it.) Anyway, read and enjoy! Don't forget to review. I'll write more of these stories if you do. ;)

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"There is a secret that we keep! I won't sleep if you won't sleep! Because tonight may be the last chance we'll be given! We are compelled to do what we must do! We are compelled to do what we have been forbidden!"

Dianna sang loudly to her favorite song of Dashboard Confessionals, while Mark drove her Mini Cooper and quietly snickered at her. "What are you doing?" she asked him. "Sing along with me, silly!"

"Babe, you know I would. But it's much funnier watching you do it alone," he teased. She playfully slapped his arm.

The sun was beginning to set, creating a fusion of different colors in the sky—pink, purple, yellow, orange and a dark, dark blue. "How long until we get to the next state?" Dianna asked. They had been on the road for almost six hours now, trying to get to New York City from Florida where the cast did a mall tour promoting the two volumes of their show's soundtrack.

"Probably another hour. Why? You hungry?" Mark asked, carefully switching lanes to get ready to take the next exit.

Dianna sighed gently and nodded. "A little. I knew that burger we had for lunch wasn't going to keep me full. I should've ordered fries for take-out."

Mark took her hand and gave it a short squeeze. "I'm really sorry about missing our flight, Lamb. We wouldn't be here if it wasn't for me," he said.

"It's not a problem," she waved him off. "This is actually pretty fun. I like going on road trips. My mom, dad and I used to do it all the time."

She gave a short giggle, remembering all those good times. This made Mark smile. Even at 23, she was still a kid at heart—always so graceful, innocent and modest, but extremely beautiful and bright. She was the kind of girl who enjoyed writing, art and photography—and she was good at doing all three.

"Well, how about we make a little stop-over and have dinner. Then we can check-in a motel for the night?" Mark suggested. "We don't have to be back until Thursday, so no pressure in getting to New York."

"I'm good with that," Dianna shrugged. "You're the boss!" she saluted, giggling again.

They stopped at a local diner; she ordered Belgian waffles with strawberries and whipped cream while he helped himself with a cheeseburger, some fries and a vanilla milkshake. "Let me pay for this one, okay? You already paid for lunch," she told him, fishing her wallet out of her purse.

Mark stopped her, refusing to let her pay. "Are you kidding? I've got this. Don't worry about it."

"You never let me pay!" Dianna complained with a pout. "Please? Just this one time."

"No," Mark said forcefully, using his age as an excuse to overpower the younger blonde. "Besides, consider this a date," he finished with a wink.

Dianna scoffed. "That's the seventh time you've said that. Not counting the one when we went to the zoo in Australia and the carnival in Los Angeles, because those weren't dates. They were group hang-outs. Cory and Lea were there."

He took a while to answer, counting the bills correctly before handing it to their waitress. "Why won't you let me date you anyway?"

"We're on a date now, aren't we?" she said this with that airy, childlike voice of hers complete with a charming smile. Really, she could be an angel most of the time. But sometimes, her words were laced with deviousness.

"I mean, exclusively," he pointed out.

Just then, the waitress returned with his change. Saved by the bell.

They played a few video games in the diner's play place. A few locals recognized them and asked for pictures and autographs. While Dianna was busy conversing with two old ladies (he was pretty surprised even grannies watched Glee), Mark snuck towards the crane machine and checked out the stuffed toys inside. "Perfect," he muttered to himself, spotting an octopus one. She loved octopuses—the crazy girl even wanted one for a pet.

Taking a quarter, he attempted to retrieve the thing before Dianna could see. Four dollars and fifty cents later, he finally managed to get the stuffed toy out. He hid it behind his back and walked over to the ladies and Dianna.

"Is Quinn ever going to give Puck a chance?" one of them asked.

Dianna was just about to answer, "It depends on—" but Mark cut her off. "It's definitely a possibility," he winked at them.

The grannies giggled like young teenage girls. After a few exchanges of, "Quick over Puckleberry!" and vice versa, Mark and Dianna finally left the diner where he showed her his little surprise.

"Mark, you didn't have to! Gosh, I promise I'll get you something corvid-related when I find one."

He snickered and placed an arm around her as they walked to her car. "We can call it even if you decide to answer my question."

Dianna remained silent, only nudging him in the rib to shush him up.

They were back on the road, and stars were now visible in the dark sky. After playing a short game of I-Spy and singing along to the songs on the radio, they finally reached the nearest low-budget motel they could find. "You sure you don't mind staying here?" Mark eyed the place from where he was about to park. "I can drive a few more miles. Maybe we can find a better motel."

"Don't be silly. It'll be too late, and you're tired. Besides, I really want to go to sleep. It's been a long day."

"Alright. Let's go, Little Lamb."

He popped open the trunk and grabbed their bags before checking in. When they reached their room (Mark made sure to get the nicest one possible), they were surprised to find it was no different than what they had expected. Two single beds with yellowish sheets, a foul smell they couldn't make out, and everything in sight was so dusty it triggered Dianna's allergies.

"I told you we could've looked for a better place, babe."

Dianna shook her head. "No, it's fine. This is fine," she smiled reassuringly. Her sneezes and blotchy nose told Mark otherwise.

"Well, you can go use the shower first. I'll just go get some ice for the fridge, and head down the motel's convenience store for some snacks."

"Wait!" Dianna stopped him. "You think you can do that later? I really don't want to be left alone here."

Mark laughed at her. She glared at him playfully, telling him to shut up before entering the bathroom.

When they were both ready to sleep—Mark in track pants and a wife-beater, and Dianna in a short, white cotton nightgown, she removed the covers of her bed (she picked the left one, because it was far from the door and window where she was afraid to see something scary), she discovered there were period stains on them and a number of pubic hairs sticking on the blanket.

"Eeeeeeeeew!" she laughed out loud, jumping away and letting go of the covers in the process. "Mark, I can't sleep in that!"

Mark stood from his own bed and checked hers, laughing as well when he did. "Shit, that's gross."

"Let's switch beds! Please!" she told him, still laughing at the sight in front of her.

"Oh hell naw, babe! You chose that bed! You sleep in it!" he teased, making a move to turn off the lamp on the small table in the middle that separated the two beds from each other.

"How am I supposed to sleep in that?" she pointed out, now pouting at her dilemma.

Mark made a move to share his bed, tapping at the space he provided. "Thank you!" Dianna squealed, jumping on the bed and quickly getting under the covers.

As soon as the lights were off, Mark wrapped his arms around her and inhaled her scent. "Umm. Do you really have to do that?" Dianna asked him softly.

"Why not?" he whispered back slowly. "Do you want me to stop?"

She sighed. He wasn't sure if it was a good this-is-what-heaven-feels-like sigh or a bad you-are-so-annoying-this-is-so-uncomfortable sigh. Either way, he didn't let go.

He woke up in the middle of the night and found her hugging his forearm. With a smile, he pressed a wet kiss to her cheek. This caused her to stir and move a bit—now she was really facing him. He stared at her long eyelashes, her perfect little nose, and the most kissable lips he had ever seen. It was too bad he was never given a chance to kiss those lips in any of their scenes in Glee yet. He was really looking forward to it.

There was no denying, he and Dianna had a special bond and were closer to each other than any of their other cast mates in Glee. Most of them assumed something was going on—Amber even bet that before the second season started, the two would officially be an item off-screen. But that wasn't the case, because Dianna didn't make it so easy for him.

Sure, she hugged him a lot and most times, she was touchy and sweet. But she was naturally an affectionate girl, so he wasn't sure how to take those gestures seriously. When they happened, he just savored them.

She already knew he liked her, like a lot. He made it known to her and everybody, even hinted to her on more than one occasion, and figuratively put a fence around her (according to Cory) that made her untouchable. He nearly destroyed whatever relationship they had when he found out she was being linked to Adam Brody and he avoided her for a week because of how jealous and bitter he was. For someone four years older, he sure acted like her age sometimes.

Mark kissed her forehead, finding it hard to resist the urge. This time, he woke her up. "Sorry," he whispered gently. "Go back to sleep."

She gave a small smile and placed a hand on his cheek, stroking his masculine jaw. At that moment, Mark decided to throw caution to the wind and leaned in to capture her lips in a fervent kiss. She gasped at first, shocked at the contact, but eventually kissed back and even moaned a little. Slowly, he got on top of her—kissing her neck, cheeks, forehead, nose, and then back to her delectable lips. For some reason, they tasted like cherry with a hint of almond. Maybe it was her lip balm. But whatever it was, she tasted good.

"Mark," she whispered while he left trails of butterfly kisses on her neck.

"Hmmm?" came his reply, gently sucking on a sensitive spot which made her gasp and arch her back.

"I don't think this is a good idea."

He was immediately brought back to his senses. "I'm sorry," she said, her eyes pleading him to understand her.

"No, you're right," he smiled reassuringly, placing one last kiss to her cheek. "We shouldn't be doing this. I'm sorry."

Returning to their original position—him with his arms wrapped around her and this time, her with her arms wrapped around him, the two fell into a deep sleep.

The following morning, they continued on their road trip to New York. Mark told her that if they made it quick with their stop-overs, they would arrive in Manhattan before midnight. Unless they wanted to spend another night in some cheap motel.

"Do you want me to drive?" Dianna offered, opening a bag of chips from their shopping bag of snacks. "You've been driving since yesterday morning."

"No, I'm good. Can I have some of those?" he stuck out his hand for some chips but instead, Dianna chose to feed him. It was little gestures like these that led him on and made him cling on more to the fact that they could be together the way he wanted them to be. "Listen," he started. "About last night—"

"Wait," she cut him off. "I never answered your question and I think before anything else, I should."

"It's not that I don't want to date you, Mark," she began her little speech, fiddling with the bag of chips and eyes focused on the road. He listened to her intently. "It's just that, I've never been in a serious relationship before. And I've just had my big break with Glee so I'm not sure I'm even ready to be in one—much more with a co-star. You know what I'm saying?"

He nodded and waited for her to go on. "But I do like you a lot, and you've always been the best part of my day. I'm just not sure how I can handle all this dating stuff. What if I screw up, and we end up like Chad Michael Murray and Sophia Bush?"

"Well technically, they still did the show after getting divorced and all," he smirked. "But here's the thing, I don't care how long it takes—I'll wait for you. Whenever you're ready. No pressure," he winked.

Dianna had to smile at this. "You really mean that?"

He took her hand and kissed the top of it. "I wouldn't be taking things this easy if I didn't."

When they finally arrived in New York, the whole cast of Glee were in Amber's room waiting for them. "You're here!" Lea exclaimed the moment Dianna entered the door. "And you're alive!"

Dianna giggled. "Of course I would be."

Lea laughed and walked over to Mark. "You better make sure that'll be the first and last time you miss your flight, mister! You and Di must be so tired from that road trip."

"It wasn't so bad. It was actually really fun!" Dianna grinned.

Amber raised an eyebrow. Cory fought the urge to snicker, but had on the most knowing smile. Chris coughed and asked, "So…did anything happen between you two?"

The pair shared a very brief eye contact (one that Amber did not miss) before Mark replied, "Of course not."

Not yet, at least.

END


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